Well, I got KT5 off to her first day of school on Wednesday. Gosh it’s hard believing that she is old enough for school already. But her raw enthusiasm for being there added some much needed excitement to the mix.

So, we got to her class, with a big bag of supplies in tow. She has so many different work books that it took a little while to get them all put in the proper sorted baskets, along with all the pencils, glue, tissues, hats, etc. And then I got to her reading log, which I didn’t see a basket for, so I gave it to her teacher, who then asked, “Does KT5 have a book bag?”

DAMN! Guess what I forgot.

I had planned to make one, but just completely forgot about it during the massive duraseal-a-thon that was 23 books and a few hours in length.

So on Thursday, one little boy decided to have an easy nap, so I whisked into the craft room, grabbed some canvas and Poly PUL, along with some FOE and made this.

So I emailed her, and asked if there was anyway to get a copy of the pattern. Thank goodness for email and the internet, because I was able to pay for a pattern AND get the PDF over a weekend. Woohoo!

OK, so I don’t have the amazing talent of Champ. Her creations are just awe inspiring. But I’ve knit up a few, though only have one finished so far.

I mistakenly stretched the bag a little when I was making a pattern for the bag lining, and in doing so, the liner came out quite, er, large. So I’ve modified the bag a bit. Using buttonholes on the liner, I added thin leather strips on the sides to help the bag maintain a nice shape.

The handles were recycled off an Op Shop salvage. I was so pleased that I was able to find something in a brown colour, as finding anything with wooden handles in Op Shops is getting tougher and tougher. All these crafty people are getting there before me.

For the lining, I picked out a nice fabric I had in stash. Can’t remember which designer fabric it is, but I thought it was beautiful. I used Champ’s label idea, with the stamped name of my blog on a piece of cotton ribbon.

Now, I need to get in gear and finish the other two.

Oh, Champ had a pattern picked for the current issue on knitty, for her Bark-A-Lounger. Congrats Champ!

So, a couple months ago, the school sent out a notice that they were planning on doing *Clubs and Activities* the second half of the term, and needed parent/grandparent/friend/whanau volunteers to help make this possible. It involved one hour on each Friday afternoon for four weeks.

KJ9, the other resident crafter in the house, was beside herself. She already had it set out that I had to volunteer to do cooking for the first two week session, and knitting for the second two week session. I don’t do enough at the school, so figured it was a good chance to take part. As it turns out, I was allocated knitting for all four weeks, which didn’t make KJ9 very happy, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. At least that meant only figuring out one project, instead of two.

Most first time knitters usually start with something simple, like a scarf. Scarves are great, but they go on and on, and it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And most seven/eight/nine year olds I know, won’t sit still long enough to cast on, let alone knit a whole scarf.

So, I decided they would knit Tooth Fairy Pouches. It’s something small, able to be completed in a small amount of time, and applicable to the age group. Here is the demo I knit up so the children could see what their knitting would look like when finished.

Each student got a packet, that included basic knitting instructions, a pair of child sized 4mm knitting needles, pattern instructions, yarn and a button.

The pattern is very basic, but perfect for small children, who need to be encouraged by results. I had the younger children the first two weeks, including KM7, and the older group the last two weeks, with KJ9. Of the 11 children total who were in my groups, six of the children were able to finish their projects in the second week. (I did cast on and knit the first ten rows for them, so they had a good start to begin with). What great results.

I can’t show you pictures of the other children from the school, but here is one of the girls, holding their finished Tooth Fairy Pouches, along with the Thank you card that all the children in my two groups signed.

And you can’t see it, but KM7 finished that pouch just in time, as she lost one of her front teeth last week. Perfect!

So here is the simple pattern I used, in case you feel like getting in touch with the knitting teacher inside yourself.

Knitted Tooth Fairy Pouch

Cast on 10 stitches.

Knit 40 rows in Garter Stitch (Knit every row)

Cast off.

Fold your work in half, and sew up both sides, leaving an opening in the top.

Add a plaited/braided or crocheted loop to one side of the opening.

Sew button on the front of the pouch, so that the loop can can hold the pouch closed.

Insert tooth when needed and place under your pillow.

EDITTED:

Here is the direct download for a printer friendly version of the pattern. Just fold it in half, and it leaves space for notes etc for the child.

Well, there aren’t many patterns that I only do once. It doesn’t matter if it’s sewn, knitted, crocheted, beaded or whatever. I find that once I do a pattern, I find ways that I can change things, or make certains parts easier for me to do. Sometimes, I just want to see what will happen with different colour combinations. And then, sometimes, I just like the pattern so much that I find reasons to do it again and again.